Nobody's Buisness
by isabellsah cullen
Summary: Babe HEA. Very Morelli unfriendly. Steph returns after disappearing for a while to find an upset Ranger confronting her. But she needs to do something to take back control of her emotions from Morelli and stop her nightmares before she can be happy.


**WARNING: Language, Sex and Adult themes apply. VIOLENCE.**

**I do not own anything, all belongs to Janet Evanovich.**

**Babe HEA**

**I just can't seem to write short, shorts...oh well enjoy. **

I dropped my duffle bag in the entry way of my apartment, gun in hand sweeping the foyer. Clear. I kicked the bag further inside and checked my kitchen, dining room, bedroom and bathroom. No psychos. Isn't it amazing that now that I could kick their asses they were nowhere to be found. Typical.

I returned to the foyer to close the front door when I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun. So not amused. I didn't think before I removed the gun from the assailant's hand, disabled him and pointed both guns at him. It was then that I realised I had just attacked Ranger. Shit. I'm so dead. I just got back from a foreign country!

"Shit." I muttered, handing him back his gun before taking three large steps back. I at least wanted some warning before he attacked.

"Babe" He sounded impressed. Thank god I didn't piss him off. Although, I might just be able to take him now.

"Sorry" I muttered, turning my back on him to pick up my duffle. I heard his silent footsteps before he reached me. Spinning around I caught his outstretched hand and flipped him, before pinning him to the ground.

"Don't sneak up on me" I stated calmly. I _knew_ I could take him...probably best not to get cocky though. I released my weight from his back and suddenly found myself pinned underneath him. Yep, knew that was gonna happen too.

"Babe" He whispered before leaning down and brushing a whisper soft kiss on my lips. God that felt so nice. I had missed this, missed him. Not that I needed a man. In fact I had religiously sworn off all men, especially men like him. Alpha males. Scum. All men are scum. I needed to get out from underneath him.

"Let me up" I instructed. He frowned and stared at my face for a long minute. He hadn't made any move to free me. If that's the way he wants it. I threw all my weight suddenly to the side, flipping him over onto his back. Too easy. I manoeuvred myself swiftly out of his grip and moved around my couch, putting it between him and me. I watched as he slowly sat up. He didn't stand.

"Babe? Come back over here" He requested. I shook my head no. He carefully stood up and stared at me some more.

"Where've you been?" Ranger asked. I opened my mouth and closed it. It wasn't that I couldn't tell him...it was just that...why'd he want to know? And he never used to tell me where he disappeared too! Can we all say broken and jaded?

"I guess you could say I've been in the wind" I saw anger flash in his eyes at my statement. I shrugged, technically it was correct. When he was in the wind he had been doing government missions. So had I, just not for _our_ government.

"Steph. Where have you been?" He asked in a strained voice. Uh oh. Maybe I should just tell him.

"Switzerland" I replied. There, I gave him an answer.

"Why?" I blinked. Why did he care so much?

"Why do you want to know?" I enquired calmly.

"I searched for you for six months. I've been constantly listening out for news about you. I've been worried Babe. I couldn't even confirm whether you were alive or dead. Nobody knew" He sounded defeated. He shouldn't have bothered. Waste of money.

"I left you a note" I pointed out.

"With three words on it" He growled, anger seeping into his voice. This was why I put the couch between us. I had learnt that from Morelli.

"I thought it got my point across perfectly" I had left. At the time I hadn't spoken to him in over three months, I only wrote the note as I walked out the door. I honestly didn't even think he would find it.

"_Goodbye, love Babe_! What point were you trying to make?" He snapped. Wow, I don't think I had ever seen him get upset...ever...over anything.

"That I was leaving. I didn't know if I would be back so I didn't write it. I left a note so you would have an idea I hadn't been kidnapped" Obviously that didn't work because he still went looking for me.

"You have been gone for more than a year and four months...Why didn't you tell me?" He questioned, his voice softer, sadder.

"You had been ignoring and avoiding me. Why would I have walked up to you and said, Ranger I'm leaving the country, don't follow me. Would you have even let me go?" He stared at me hard for a few minutes.

"Depends on what your reasons were for going" Well, let's see. Morelli had finally embraced his genetics and had started on the alcohol and woman beating. Me being the woman. Smart Stephanie had wanted out; stupid Stephanie had wanted to help him. Stupid Stephanie had gotten beaten and bruised.

Ranger hadn't been there for me. I had wrung Ranger once, after Morelli had thrown me down the stairs, and asked him to pick me up. He said he was busy. I called my dad the next day after getting a rather nasty head wound. He had picked me up, taken me home and told me to pack a duffle with a few changes of warm clothes and a toiletry bag. I had been on a private jet to Switzerland three hours later. Who would have thought my dad would have had such connections?

"Morelli. You. I needed the training" That basically summed up my reasons. Ranger not being there for me when I was in trouble had been the biggest deciding factor. My dad had asked me what I had that was worth sticking around for...the honest answer had been nothing and no-one. Rex had died, I was sick of my family; I hadn't spoken to my friends since Morelli had started on his drinking.

Nothing and no one. I still had nothing and no one here. That's why I was just passing through. I was gonna stay for a couple of days, see my family, end the lease on my apartment and take what I needed before leaving. I didn't know where I was going. Didn't care. I had enough money now that I could set up anywhere I wanted. Not to mention I now had skills that some people would die for.

"What did Morelli do?" Oh come on! He _must _have _at least_ heard the burg rumours! I hadn't realised he had been that far out of my life.

"Nothing that concerns you" Maybe I would just spend one day here...maybe I would pay Morelli a visit.

"What about me?" Well I guess that did concern him. Should I tell him the truth? It would probably just push him even further away from me. Let's just see how much he really knows first.

"That's related to Morelli" Now let's see if he bites.

"How the hell does Morelli beating you have anything to do with me?" He demanded harshly. Ah, so he did know.

"Doesn't matter. What's done is done. Would you mind seeing yourself out? I need to pack" I glanced around the apartment, thinking of things I should take with me. Nothing really came to mind.

"Pack?" Ranger asked softly, his voice laced with pain. Why was he upset?

"I'm not staying. I don't have anything to stay for." Bad memories, good memories, and my heart would be the only things that would remain here. My heart would be anywhere that Ranger was. Too bad he didn't fucking feel the same way.

He took a few steps towards me. I let him. He took a few more until he was almost touching me.

"When are you leaving?" Not, _stop Babe, I don't want you to go. Stay with me, stay for me_. Of course he'd never say those words to me. I must be getting delusional. I took one final glance of my apartment. I decided I didn't need anything.

"Now" I answered, not meeting his gaze. This would probably be the last time I ever saw him...ever saw the man I was in love with, that I loved with all my heart, and I couldn't even look at him.

"Why?" He was sure in a chatty mood.

"Why should I stay?" I dared to ask.

"It's been dull without you around" That was it. That's all he had to say. I was walking out of his life forever and he wanted me to stay to be his fucking entertainment.

"I gotta go Ranger" I snapped, side stepping him and collecting my bag on the way out, not sparing him a second glance. God Stephanie, why did you have to fall in love with a man who only uses you as his entertainment? Stupid woman. I took the stairs quickly and walked over to my black Ducati that was parked in the lot. I strapped my bag on and swung my leg over, shoving the key roughly into the ignition. It was suddenly removed by a mocha late coloured hand. What does he want from me now?

"I'm not done with you yet" He growled, throwing me over his shoulder and grabbing my bag. He couldn't do this! This was why I had gotten fucking training! I started to work out the best way to free myself when I was dumped in a car, handcuffed and shackled. Bastard. He had locked me up just like a fucking skip! He slammed the car door and walked around the car to the driver's side. We were on the road in seconds. I was trying to remember which pocket I had my Swiss army knife in and whether I could reach it or not. We pulled into Haywood's garage in less than ten minutes. Ranger opened his phone.

"Garage now" He ordered to whoever was on the other line, instantly hanging up. Still no phone manners. I sat in silence, waiting. The elevator opened and out ambled Tank and Lester. Probably I couldn't take on both of them while handcuffed.

Ranger slipped out of the car. I could barely hear his muffled voice.

"Watch her. She will try to escape. I will be back in exactly five minutes. You lose her, you lose your jobs" Whoa, little harsh Batman. I'm not worth that much trouble.

"Who?" I heard Lester ask as Ranger stalked away. He didn't answer. Tank walked over to the car door and opened it, his jaw dropping.

"Bombshell?" He wondered taking in my current position.

"Mr..."Fuck, what was Tank's last name? How am I supposed to be intimidating when I can't even use his last name! Ugh. Something to remember for later. "What Tank?" I snapped at him. He slid into the car, Lester sliding in on my other side. Huh. A Merry Man sandwich with one Stephanie Plum as the filling.

"Where you been Beautiful?" Lester asked tenderly, turning my face towards his and kissing my forehead. I sighed, why is he treating me so carefully?

"Switzerland" For the majority of the time, anyway. Tank wrapped an arm around my waist and gave me a gentle hug before dropping a kiss on the top of my head.

"I missed you" Tank stated. Huh, I couldn't even get that much from Ranger.

"Me too beautiful. You gonna stick around? Are you all healthy now?" I frowned. What?

"What do you mean, am I all healthy now? I left to get training, I wasn't sick" I frowned.

"That's not what Morelli's been saying. Said he sent you to a mental hospital, that you weren't well." The bastard, definitely paying him a visit.

"He said you were having violent fits of rage, attacking people and shit" Lester added. How fucking dare he!

"No. I was in Switzerland. Training. I joined the fucking Swiss Armed Forces!" I bit back tears. I can't believe he spread a rumour like that around. "Look at my dog tags" I gestured towards myself. Lester carefully reached inside my tight black shirt and pulled out my ID tags.

"You joined the Swiss armed forces?" Tank sounded amazed. I didn't _just_ fucking join the armed forces.

"Open my duffle" I ordered. Tank picked it up and sat it on my lap, unzipping it. He waited.

"Pull out the folder" It had been marked confidential but I could allow others to read it at my discretion. Tank pulled it out and glanced at me after noting the cover. I nodded. He sat back and opened it.

"HOLY SHIT!" I nodded. I had done some stuff that could be labelled as that and he was only on the first page.

"What?" Lester queried.

"She joined the _Grenadiers"_ Tank muttered, still reading.

"She did what?!" Ranger demanded suddenly, appearing in the doorway. He didn't sound too happy about it. Why should he be proud of something I've done? Too much to even hope for anymore. He used to be proud of me.

"Put it away Tank. Now" I commanded in a hurt voice. Amazingly he did as I asked, re-zipped my bag. He jumped out of the car and took Ranger by the shoulder, dragging him away, out of hearing distance.

"Well I'm proud of you Beautiful. Don't leave town without saying goodbye this time" Lester pleaded, kissing my forehead again.

"I can't promise you that Lester" I whispered. As soon as I got free, I was disappearing.

"Stay" He stated. I shook my head. The only person who had the ability to get me to stay didn't want me around for the right reasons.

"He does love you Steph, stick around and give him a chance" Same old ESP. Shame I hadn't picked up on that trick.

"Of course he doesn't" I answered in a soft voice, laced with pain. No man had ever really loved me. How sad is that?

"Yes he does. If he doesn't man up about it soon, I'm going to pursue you myself. Any man would be beyond lucky to have you. Don't forget it." I think that was the nicest thing Lester had ever said to me. Too bad it was a lie. I just nodded.

"I'll see you later Beautiful" He murmured, sliding out of the car and closing the door quietly. And now I was all alone again. Lucky I was used to it. Ranger opened the driver's door and started the engine. He pulled out of the garage and started driving north. He didn't say a word. I didn't ask. About an hour or two into the drive I felt tears falling down my cheeks as I stared out the window. Where was he taking me?

"Babe?" I heard Ranger murmur. I ignored him.

"Steph" He whispered. "We're almost there" He continued gently. Almost _where?_ I continued staring out the window. We were heading into an area with large estates, of at least ten acres each. Wow. We drove along further and pulled up to a gate. Ranger hit the button on a remote and drove through, towards an enormous two story house that must have been 70 yards long. I sat patiently as he climbed out and opened my door.

"Babe, if I release you, are you gonna fight me?" Honestly, I couldn't feel my legs anymore and my wrists were rubbed raw. Not that much energy left to fight. I just shook my head no. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my lips before unlocking the handcuffs and shackles. Once they were removed, sensations started flooding back into my limbs...mostly just pain. I think I whimpered. He paused.

"I'm sorry Babe. I didn't mean to hurt you" I sat there, rubbing my legs, they were gonna be bruised. "C'mon" he whispered, pulling me out of the car and swinging me up into his arms, carrying my duffle and his in one hand. He somehow managed to unlock the front door and deposit me on a couch inside. The inside of the house was stunning, all done in warm chocolaty colours. Ranger returned a second later, picking me up again and carrying me up the flight of stairs.

I didn't speak. I didn't have anything to say. As soon as we had the talk he wanted, I would be gone, as much as it would kill me to leave him again. He gently lay me down on a large bed, kissing me again.

"Babe?" He enquired. I kept my mouth shut. "Speak to me" I shook my head and rolled onto my side, facing away from him. I felt one of his hands run gently through my hair.

"Ok Babe. Take a nap and when you wake up, we'll talk?" Whatever. His lips pressed against the back of my head before he was gone, the door softly closing behind him. I counted to fifty before I jumped off the bed, collecting my duffle and opening the door a crack. Clear. I slipped out and silently hobbled down the stairs, my legs aching. When I reached the landing, I paused, hearing Ranger's voice.

"I need your advice" He spoke angrily. I sat down on a step and listened. What, it could be interesting!

"She won't speak to me. Hasn't said one word. How the fuck am I supposed to tell her I love her when I can't even tell if she's listening to me or not?! Shit Tank, I won't be able to take it if she leaves again. I fucking need her like air. I want her to stay, to stay with me permanently."

I think my jaw had hit the floor and was now making its way to China. Did he really just say that? He loves me? He wants me to stay, with him? Wow. Time to re-evaluate the whole leaving thing...that is, if he _does_ actually decide to tell me. I'd give him a day or two.

"Are you sure she does? ...Alright man, will do" I heard him end the call. I raced back upstairs quietly, setting my duffle down _exactly_ where it had been and lay back down on the bed willing my heart rate to slow. The door opened and I heard him move into the room. I listened as his shoes and weapons hit the floor before the bed dipped and he was laying behind me, pulling me backwards into his embrace. God, this felt nice.

"Steph?" He whispered.

"Mmmmm" I replied.

"Nothing _querida_ go back to sleep" he murmured gently. Mental sigh, he could have told me then! I snuggled back into his arms more and closed my eyes. I fell asleep, knowing that I would be safe with Ranger.

I awoke lying on top of Ranger's chest; my head snuggled in the crook of his neck. His arms were around me, his hands gently rubbing circles on my back. Hmm. I kept my eyes closed.

"I know you're awake Babe" Shit. Busted. I tried to move off him and sit up, but he held me tightly against his chest...I wasn't going anywhere unless I attacked him, which I didn't want to. I loved him after all. I just waited patiently.

"Can we talk now Steph?" He whispered softly in my ear. I turned my head so I was staring at his face. His eyes were warm and gentle. For the first time _ever_ his mask was off, his emotions in plain sight. He looked happy, content.

"What do you wish to discuss?" I asked carefully. He kissed my forehead before speaking.

"Lots of stuff Babe. But I want some answers from you first. Truthful and straight answers. Can you do that?" I contemplated it for a minute.

"Ok" It would depend on the question but I would answer as best as I could.

"Thanks Babe." He brought one of his hands up and traced my face before cupping my cheek. Then he smiled.

"What?" I wondered. He brought his lips to mine in a tender kiss.

"I'm so happy you're alive. You have no idea. I'm so glad you came back; that you're here, that you're ok. I was worried Babe. I thought the worst. You're ok" He murmured his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. I was amazed he cared that much...he sounded so relieved.

"I'm fine" I reassured him.

"Good" He stated, giving me another kiss. He sure was in a kissing mood...although he always did like to kiss.

"Weren't you going to ask me some questions?" I reminded carefully.

"Yeah Babe, I'm just thinking how to word them. I don't want to upset you again" He answered, playing with my hair. I nodded and waited.

"Can we start over?" I raised both my eyebrows at him.

"What do you mean?" I enquired.

"Pretend we didn't have a fight before, that you just walked through my front door and said Ranger I'm back?" A do over. He's acting weird today.

"If that's what you want" I responded.

"Thanks Babe...Where have you been?" Ranger questioned. I took a deep breath. Time to be truthful...might actually get me some confessions out of him...huh, not likely.

"Switzerland, mostly."

"What did you do there?"

"I joined the Swiss armed forces. I completed twenty five weeks boot camp as a _Grenadier_ in _Isone_. I was taught how to deal with urban warfare, guerrilla warfare, anti-terrorist operations, commando tactics, sniper missions, hand to hand combat, and other special operations. Once they deemed me sufficiently trained, I went on paid missions." That brought a smile to my face, I had accomplished so much.

"You learn any languages Babe?"

"German, French and Italian." He nodded.

"Why'd you leave Babe? Why did you do it?" His eyes gazed compellingly into mine. He wanted the complete truth this time, and he wasn't going to accept less. I sighed.

"You sure you want to know" He kissed my forehead in encouragement. Oh well, here goes nothing.

"Morelli was beating me every night. I wanted to help him, I knew he loved me, I couldn't figure out why he wanted to hurt me so bad, why I made him so angry. When I started getting scared of him, I called you and you wouldn't help me. I hadn't seen any of my family or friends in so long I was completely alone, too afraid to leave, so I stayed. He would just follow me back to my apartment any way. The day after I called you, Morelli pushed me through a window. I had a pretty bad head injury and some minor cuts. Morelli left, telling me to clean up my mess. I called my dad and asked him to pick me up. When he found me, he did some first aid, took me home and told me to pack a bag with some clothes. He then took me to the airport and put me on a private jet to Switzerland where I was picked up by his friend, a general in the Swiss Armed Forces. I didn't have anyone here to turn to Ranger. Not even you. There was nothing to keep me here. So I left and got the training I always needed" I had shifted my gaze to a spot on his wall before I had even spoken the first sentence. I felt his hand cup my face and turn me back to him.

"Steph. I'm sorry, if I had of helped you...I shouldn't have ignored you Babe. I was angry that you were still with Morelli, even though he was hurting you. I'm sorry; you should've been able to rely on me." Ranger sounded like he was beating himself up about it.

"What's done is done Ranger. There's nothing you can do about it now" I soothed.

"Yes there is Babe. I'm gonna make it up to you" He growled.

"Ok" I shrugged.

"That means you have to stick around" I pressed my lips together.

"I won't make promises I can't keep." I whispered.

"Steph" He murmured back. Ok, let's try this again.

"Why should I stay?" I asked. Here goes Ranger, your last chance.

"I told you before Babe" And you just blew it.

"That's not good enough. I'm not sticking around just so you can get a few laughs." I slid out of his arms quickly and jumped off the bed. He sat up looking shocked. What? I had learned to get myself out of tight situations.

"Steph. That wasn't what I meant" He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. I paced over to his window and stared out. We were a long way out from any town or city. It would take me at least a day to get anywhere walking if I was being careful about my trail. Shit. I hated hiking.

"_It's been dull without you around_. What other meaning does that have Ranger?" I wondered in a hard voice.

"Steph, please" Not gonna work this time Batman.

"No. I'm not going to sit around and be laughed at by anyone anymore. I don't want to be around people who don't appreciate me. I love you and it breaks my heart every single time you say something like that. I can't live with that anymore, it hurts too much. You don't want me; what happens when I get a boyfriend and he does something you don't like? You'd just ignore me again; I'd lose my best friend and my heart. So it's better if I just leave now and protect myself from all that pain." I knew I had tears welling up in my eyes.

"You love me?" God men can be so thick.

"It doesn't matter" I exhaled slowly and moved towards my bag. "Goodbye Ranger" I muttered as I opened his bedroom door and slipped out. I rapidly found myself tackled to the ground, my arms and legs pinned. Ranger was hovering above me.

"Stephanie. Don't. I...stay, please. Stay for me. I need you...I...you're not my entertainment. I never laugh _at_ you Babe. Never. I do want you. I don't ever want another man touching you again. I want you... I..." he was begging. I had _never_ seen him beg before.

"What Ranger? You what?" Say it, and I'm yours.

"I...I love you Steph. I want a relationship with you. Please, don't leave" I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his in a hard kiss. Finally Batman. That wasn't so hard, was it?

"Ok" I whispered. He blinked at me.

"You'll stay. With me?" I nodded. "Because I love you?" He was frowning. "You always knew I loved you"

"No I didn't Ranger. I didn't think you liked me any more than as a friend. I can't read minds, I had no idea you wanted a relationship with me. Last time I saw you, you didn't so much as glance in my direction. I didn't even think you wanted to be friends anymore. I'm staying because you told me you love me and want a relationship with me. If you don't and this is just a scheme to keep me in Trenton, I'll be gone without a trace. So Ranger, do you really want a relationship with me; do you really love me?" My voice dropped in volume the longer I spoke and I closed my eyes as I finished. I know he said he did, but that doesn't mean anything in my world. Morelli said he loved me and look where that got me.

"Steph, open your eyes and look at me. _Querida _please. C'mon Babe, open your beautiful eyes" He murmured softly. How can I resist him when he says something like that? My eyes fluttered open and found his face half an inch from mine.

"I love you. I want a relationship with you. I. Love. You" He punctuated his words with kisses.

"I love you too" I returned gently. He growled before he attacked me with his lips. Suddenly, his weight was off of me and I was being lifted up in his arms.

"Let me show you just how much I love you" He whispered huskily as he carried me back into his bedroom.

RsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRsRSRsRsRsRsRsRsRsR

I sat up with a start. My heart pounding, my skin clammy. Ranger's arm slipped around my waist and pulled me back down, so that I was half lying on top of him. I took a deep breath, _you're safe Steph, and you're with Ranger, at Ranger's house. You can kick arse now. _

"Another nightmare Babe?" He murmured, his eyes watching me carefully. I nodded.

"That's five nights in a row Steph. You gonna tell me what they're about?" Ranger asked in a calm voice. My nightmares had been going on a lot longer than that, he just hadn't been around to witness them. It was much worse now that I was back in New Jersey; I used to only get them every couple of months.

"You don't want to know" I answered, burying my head in his chest and brushing a kiss against his skin.

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked" He replied bringing a hand up and stroking my hair. I sighed.

"There's something I have to do. It will make the nightmares go away but I need to do it alone. You can come, but you're not to get involved." I tried to explain.

"What do you need to do _amante?_ Why can't I help you?" He requested gently.

"I need to pay Morelli a visit" And give him the ass kicking he deserved.

"Whatever you need Babe" He stated before climbing out of bed. It was only midnight.

"Where are you going Ranger?" I wondered as I watched him pull on his black cargos and a Rangeman t-shirt before arming himself.

"We're paying Morelli a visit. I don't like you having nightmares. C'mon" He lifted me out of bed and carried me to his wardrobe. I'm pretty sure I had run out of clothes...what was Batman up to?

"I always kept clothes here for you, in hope that one day you'd be here" He clarified before pulling out a set of black clothes and underwear, all embroided with _Rangeman_. The shirt had the word Ranger in big letters on the back, similar to a football jersey. I raised both my eyebrows at him, which got me a chuckle.

"So everyone knows who you belong to. So Morelli knows you're mine. I like knowing my name is on every article of your clothing" He smiled. I rolled my eyes and changed quickly. His eyes raked over my body and a wolf grin appeared on his face.

"Just as long as you don't start marking your territory with pee" I chided. He laughed and gave me a quick kiss before handing me a gun. I looked at it.

"I need something different" I handed him back the gun and went to my duffle. Sitting it on the bed, I pulled out my knife roll/bag. I opened it and felt Ranger step behind me.

"Babe" He sounded amazed. I probably had a total of fifteen knives and blades. I selected five throwing knives, tucked a boot knife in my shoe and picked out a throwing star. I also tucked my Swiss army knife in my pocket. That should do.

"What's your plan Babe?" Ranger picked out another of my tanto knives and weighed it in his hand.

"I'm going to scare the shit out of him, make him live in fear of me." Ranger nodded and dropped a kiss on my head.

"Ready to go then?" I shrugged. He Smiled and took my hand, leading us down his stairs and out to the garage. He selected his Porsche Turbo. I slipped into the car and buckled in. We exited his estate quickly and were flying down the road in no time flat.

"How involved do you want me to be Babe?" He asked after around half an hour driving.

"If he's about to kill me, stop him, otherwise you can just sit back and enjoy the show" I answered.

"You want me visible to him?" He wondered.

"I practically have your name plastered all over my body; your presence probably won't enrage him that much more." He nodded.

"Am I allowed to speak?" I considered it and gave him a nod. He focused back on driving. I prepared myself to kick Morelli's ass.

An hour and a half later we were pulling up in front of Morelli's house. Everything was dark and silent...although I'd expect that at two am. We both silently exited the car and crept up to the house. I picked the lock in less than five seconds, amazing Ranger. I silently ascended the stairs and entered Morelli's bedroom. He was sound asleep. Perfect. I'd lost Ranger by this stage, but my neck was tingling so I knew he was close by. I pulled up a chair to sit directly in front of Morelli's bed. Then I sat and waited. He was a cop, I'm sure he'd wake up soon. I was right. Not five minutes later he began to stir. As he sat up I quickly threw one of my knives, it landed in the head board not an inch from his ears.

"Christ!" Morelli exclaimed as his eyes landed on me and then turned to stare at the knife.

"He's not going to help you now asshole." I smirked

"What the fuck? Where the hell have you been? Is that a fucking Rangeman shirt you're wearing?" He growled jumping out of bed and approaching me. I sat patiently and waited for the perfect moment to attack.

"Yes that's a fucking Rangeman shirt. Steph has agreed to be with me, and I'm keeping her" I heard Ranger's adamant voice echo from the corner. So that's where he was hiding. Morelli faltered in his steps, and then continued to approach me. Obviously his anger was overruling his brain...or alcohol...because I don't think any sober man would attack me in front of Ranger.

"Get up" Morelli growled. I smiled and shook my head no.

"Make me" He lunged and I caught his arm and flipped him easily straight over my chair. Momentum is a marvellous thing. The idiot got back up and charged me again...what could I do? I flipped him again, this time throwing more force behind it so he collided with the wall. When he didn't instantly jump up I slowly stood.

"**I've heard that you've been talking shit and you didn't think I would hear it?" **I snarled at him.

He slowly stood and faced me. I had my boot knife in my hand, twirling it around. His eyes focused on that. They missed that my other hand had acquired a knife as well. When I lunged, he tried to disable the one hand, that was going for his throat, and not the knife that was going for his balls. He froze stock still when he felt the cold blade press against him through his boxers.

"I'm not putting up with your shit ever again. I'm no longer your woman, I'm no longer your friend, and I am no longer your ally. You approach me, touch me or speak inappropriately about me again, I will cut off your balls and shove them so far up your ass you can taste them. Then the real torture will start. Don't fuck with me Morelli" I spoke in a low menacing voice. Honestly I was expecting him to laugh, the blade against his dick must have been doing the trick.

I took a step back and tucked both knives away. He attacked, idiot. I threw the first punch and was rewarded with a sickening crack. Broken nose. While that distracted him I grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the balls. Hard. It dropped him like a sack.

"I'm not making an idol promise. You will never lay a brutal hand to me again" I spat, giving him a last kick for good measure, and exited the room. As soon as I was out the door I felt Ranger collect me in his arms and give me a kiss. I melted into his arms.

"God babe, I'm so proud of you" He chuckled pulling me tight against him. He was hard as a rock.

"That turn you on Batman?" I wondered with a small smile.

"Like nobody's business. Never let me get on your bad side Babe" He smiled scooping me up in his arms and carrying me to the car.

"You could never get on my bad side. I love you too much" I felt him stop and he laid a gentle kiss on my lips.

"Love you too Babe" He whispered.

_The end. _


End file.
